The Broke and the Beautiful: Irish Boy Band Edition

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Westlife singer Shane Filan is crooning the bankruptcy blues, and Stephen Baldwin lost a lawsuit against fellow actor Kevin Costner. Also, Curt Schilling was sued personally for $2.4 million over a loan from Citizens Bank to his failed videogame company.

European Pressphoto Agency/Maxwells Irish Government Pool

Shane Filan performs with Westlife in Dublin on May 19, 2011.

Westlife will soon be de-funked, but at least one member of the Irish boy band will have something else to occupy his time: bankruptcy court. The Mirror reported that Shane Filan was declared bankrupt in the U.K. after his property-management empire crumbled, leaving him struggling under the weight of £18 million ($28 million) in debt. Filan told the Mirror he looked for ways to avoid bankruptcy without success and that he was “devastated that it came to this conclusion.” Even though Westlife will be no more, though, Filan won’t have to swear off music forever. Last month, he made a record deal last month with Universal, according to the Irish Times.

Associated Press

Stephen Baldwin arrives in court on June 14 for closing arguments in the trial for his lawsuit against fellow actor Kevin Costner.

Stephen Baldwin has been out of our purview for a while—his bankruptcy case was dismissed last year. But this week, he lost a $17 million lawsuit against fellow actor Kevin Costner, Speakeasy reported. Baldwin, who said he used his celebrity to help Costner market oil-cleanup devices after the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, claimed in his lawsuit that Costner duped him into selling his shares on the cheap of the company that marketed the devices. The waters got muddy on Wednesday, though, when a witness testified that Baldwin threatened to give personal information about Costner to the New York Times if the two actors couldn’t solve their business dispute.

Reuters

Curt Schilling

For Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, whose videogame company filed for bankruptcy last week, the curveballs have kept on coming. According to the Boston Globe, Citizens Bank sued Schilling personally for $2.4 million in loans made to 38 Studios LLC. Citizens said Schilling himself guaranteed the money but so far has “failed and refused” to pay the debt, most of which comes from a credit line established in 2010.

Associated Press

Lenny “Nails” Dysktra has been fieldinga lotof problems over the past couple of years as he contends with bankruptcy and jail sentences. But the jail sentences he’s already facing won’t be going away, and neither will his criminal case. Court documents show a judge struck down the former New York Mets player’s motion to dismiss the criminal case against him. According to the Associated Press, Dykstra is set to go to trial next month on more than a dozen charges, including bankruptcy fraud and embezzlement.

Associated Press/El Nuevo Herald

Warren Sapp

Former football star Warren Sapp filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and now he’s trying to hold onto his condo. Court documents (h/t TMZ) show that a judge next month will hear HSBC Bank’s motion to let it move forward with its efforts to foreclose on Sapp’s home. Bankruptcy filings halt lawsuits, so HSBC—which was owed more than $780,000 at the time of Sapp’s filing—needs the judge’s permission to move forward.

About Bankruptcy Beat

From Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review, exclusive coverage of corporate bankruptcies, companies headed for trouble and the latest trends in bankruptcy law, distressed investing and corporate restructuring. Lead writer Pat Fitzgerald and Daily Bankruptcy Review reporters in Washington, New York and Wilmington, Del., provide insight into the big cases, who’s next to fall and what’s making news across the bankruptcy market.